Netflix today announced the full cast of nine for its new series First Love, directed and written by Yuri Kanchiku, starring Hikari Mitsushima and Takeru Satoh, and inspired by songs written and composed by J-Pop sensation Hikaru Utada.
The series tells a spectacular love story that spans more than 20 years. First Love will premiere globally on Netflix on November 24, 2022.
The cast includes leading and up-and-coming talent from Japan, including Kaho, Minami, Akiyoshi Nakao, Araki Towa, Aoi Yamada, Osamu Mukai, Arata Iura and Kyoko Koizumi.
Additionally, Netflix will also show Utada Hikaru’s Studio Live Performance Hikaru Utada Live Sessions from Air Studios starting on June 9, ahead of the premiere of ‘First Love’ in November.
About First Love:
The series co-stars Hikari Mitsushima (Sawako Decides) as Yae Noguchi, and Takeru Satoh (Ruroni Kenshin films) as Harumichi Namiki, who play high school sweethearts that meet in the late 90s. Each pursues their dreams while trying to stay together, but fate has other things planned for them, and two decades later, Yae is a single mom to a teenage son, while Harumichi is engaged to marry someone else. However, they soon discover their love story is not quite over yet… For Hikaru Utada, who has written various songs for scripted series and films in the past, this will be the first ever scripted series directly inspired by their songs.